This Gut Feeling
by Alessiel
Summary: He knew that he should have just let her walk home on her own, but something in his gut was telling him he needed to get to know this girl a little better. Since he was half dog demon his instincts tend to play a big role in his actions. Whatever the reason was; He knew he had to see Kagome again, and he would.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello ^.^  
Well, this is my second fanfic I've decided to post on here, so I appreciate very much those of you giving it a chance :)  
I would very much love some reviews, to let me know what you guys think and if there is something I need to work on.  
That would be the best ever! :D**

**Disclaimer: I Don't own Inuyasha :( Boo...**

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She collapsed to her knees before the grave stone in front of her. Her tears she had been holding back for so long, were now uncontrollably pouring out. She had tried so hard to stay strong, for her mom, Souta, and gramps, but it was a heavier weight than her small shoulders could bear. She brought her hands up to her face and was now letting out pitiful squeaks with each sob. She missed him so much, and she wasn't sure what to do anymore. Her mother had gone into a horrible depression, Gramps could barely get out of bed without assistance, let alone take care of the family, and Souta was still young. So that left only her, Kagome, to step up to the plate. Her father had been gone for almost a year now, and this was the first time she had come to see him since the burial. She put her hand on the cool stone in front of her and brought her head down as more tears began to fall.

"Oh papa, I miss you, I miss you so much. Everything is falling apart with you gone..." She whispered.

"Momma is too depressed to get a job, and our savings are almost all gone. I applied at that little store down the road from our house…You know the one that sells those little sour candies Souta likes? They need someone to bag groceries and clean up…" Kagome took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face and carried on.

"I have an interview tomorrow… I hope I get the job." She closed her eyes and imagined her father listening to her, as if he were still alive.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to come see you…I just wanted to be strong, like you, for our family. I don't know how you did it papa…We are all lost without you. "

A cool breeze hit Kagome and it sent shivers down her spine. She looked up and noticed it was getting later and knew she should be heading home soon. The sun was beginning to set and she did not want to be walking around alone in the dark. She had went shopping after school, to get some things for the house, when she walked by the cemetery. She had stood there, staring, debating if she should go to see him, and now her first visit to her father's grave had to be cut short…  
"I should probably go back home now…I love you papa…"

She slowly stood up and turned her back towards his grave stone. She threw her yellow bag over her shoulder and began walking away with a few more tears escaping. She kept her eyes to the ground, because she didn't want anyone to see her crying. She wasn't really sure why she was so ashamed of it; odds are anyone here is mourning a loved one as well. She supposed it was because she had to step up and take care of her family, so showing weakness was something she couldn't allow herself to do. She had to be strong for them, and do all the things her father made seem so easy. He really was amazing, and thinking about it now, she felt as if she had taken all he had really done for granted. He worked 2 jobs and somehow managed to make time for them as well…  
Kagome was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed she drifted off the path, so when she collided into something firm, and warm, she was caught completely off guard.

"What the…? Watch where you're going, wench!"

Kagome brought her head up and was immediately stunned by this man's strange golden eyes. She took a step back and noticed that he had long silver hair, which was just as intriguing as his eyes, but that wasn't caught her attention most. No, what surprised her most about this strange man was the pair of dog ears that sat on the top of his head. Her eyes grew wide and she had the sudden urge to reach out and grab them.

"K-Kikyo?" She heard him say. She brought her gaze back down to his and noticed his eyes were full of longing... for her. He reached his hand out to her and Kagome felt panic begin to set in. His hand was getting closer to her face and his gaze had fallen to her lips. Once she saw him begin to lean in she slapped his hand away. He stood there, shocked.  
"Don't touch you touch me, CREEP!" she screamed and ran passed him.

"WAIT! I'm sorry! I just thought….you were someone else." He yelled after her. Kagome stopped. Had he lost someone too? She heard footsteps coming up behind her and prepared herself to run, in case he did something creepy again.

"I didn't mean to freak you out…" She heard him say behind her.

If she resembled this person he is mourning, could she really blame him for acting that? She was sure if she saw someone who resembled her dad, she wouldn't know what to do…

"This Kikyo…was she…someone you lost?" Kagome asked. Her back was still to this strange man, but she could feel the sadness radiating from him.

"Yeah….she is."

"I, I lost someone close to me too, recently. I'm terribly sorry for you…"

"I don't need your pity alright. I'm doing just fine without her." He snapped. Kagome was surprised by his sudden mood change.

"You don't need to pretend to be okay, feeling sad after losing someone is completely normal." She said and turned around

"Keh, well I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly _normal_" He said while bringing his arm up to point at the two ears on top of his head. Kagome held back a giggle as she saw them twitch slightly.

"I'm a half demon. I don't get all sentimental like you humans do."

Kagome stared at him in awe. A demon? What was a demon doing in this town? Demons were banished to their own city a long time ago. Kagome remembered learning in history class that they had once lived together, but resentment began to build and soon their society had become segregated. This had only caused more hatred and anger towards the 2 species and after the fighting, killing, raping, and kidnapping became unbearable; the head of the demons, and the prime minister of Japan decided it would be best to just have two separate civilizations. They had come to a truce and if either of their kind stepped onto the other land, they had the right to kill them without question.

"What are you doing here? You do realize if you are caught you will be killed, right?"

The hanyou crossed his arms and glared down at her.

"Didn't ya hear a word I said, wench. I'm a _half_ demon. That makes me half human, which means as long as I don't cause any trouble, they can't kick me out."

Half demon? A human and demon had a child and he is the result? Kagome didn't realize that was possible. She hadn't seen any real demons in her life time, but she had seen pictures in school, and they didn't look like they could even reproduce with a human.

"Is it even possible for demons and humans…too…do that?" Kagome felt herself blush.

"Only DaiYoukai have the ability to mate with a human, because they have a human form." He explained.

Kagome had learned about DaiYoukai in school, they were extremely powerful demons, and there were only a few. That means one of his parents must have been of importance in the Demon city, so why was here in our human city?

"How come you choose to stay here with us humans?" She blurted out. She knew it was none of her business, but her curiosity and her mouth got the better of her. He crossed his arms again and looked away.

"I don't exactly fit in there." She looked up at the ears on top of his head and was a little baffled. There's no way he fit in better here, he looked more demon than he did human with those ears!

"You mean, you fit in here?" She saw one of his ears twitch again.

"Keh, yeah right. Humans are just easier to deal with than Demons are."

Kagome felt bad for him, he didn't really belong anywhere. Since demons and humans hated each other so much, he must have gotten a lot of crap throughout his life. She looked past him and saw that the sun was beginning to set. She had to head home, it would be dark by the time she got there now. She would like to think her mother was worried about her, but she probably hadn't even left her bed yet today. Kagome sighed.

"It was nice to meet you, but I have to be getting back home." She said and turned around. She probably seemed a little rude but she had to get home.

"hey wait a second wench! You don't think you are walking home alone in the dark, do ya?"

She really hated that he kept calling her wench. She had a name ya know, but it was nice that he was willing to walk her home. She had just met him, so she was a little leery about him seeing where she lived.

"My name isn't Wench, its Kagome. And I appreciate your offer but I'll be fine." She said and continued walking. She didn't get far before she collided into someone again. She looked up and her eyes immediately locked with the gold amber of his.

"Listen wench, its dangerous to be walking around the city alone at dark, especially for a woman. You're crazy if you think I'm going to have that on my conscience."

Again with the wench. Kagome felt her eyebrow twitch.

"No you listen, dog boy." She saw his eyes widen as she poked him in the chest.

"I can handle myself just fine. If you think I'm just going to let some creep have his way with me in a dark alley, YOUR the crazy one!" The half demon standing in front of her glared into her furious brown eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're not pretty enough for someone to want to touch you. I was more worried about you getting mugged or somethin'." He knew he was lighting a fire in her right now, but he was damned if he was going to let her walk alone. He knew better than anyone how low a human with the wrong intentions could stoop.

"Wow, aren't you just so freaking SWEET." She said stomping her foot onto his. He yelped in pain and preceded to grab his foot.

"Crazy wench!" He grumbled under his breath when she walked past him. She gave him nothing more then a "Hmph" and stuck her nose in the air as she continued walking.

She had gone about a block when she got an uneasy feeling. She could feel a pair of eyes staring at her back and could hear the quiet footsteps trailing not far behind her. Her heart began slamming against her chest and she quickened her pace, but so did the person behind her. Oh crap. She began to regret not letting the half demon walk her home. If anyone could handle some creep following her, it would be someone with demon blood coursing through his veins. Kagome broke out into a small sprint now, she had to find a way to lose this creep. Should she turn around and see if that demon was still at the cemetary? Would he be willing to help after she stomped on his foot? It's not like he didn't deserve it, he was being anything but nice to her. Kagome turned down a street and hid behind a building. She saw the silhouette of someone run right by her, and she heaved a big sigh.

"that was a close one..." She said out loud as she peaked around the corner. She felt a hand on her shoulder and let out a loud scream. She quickly turned around and smacked the stranger.

"Ow! Whadya do that for!" The half demon said while rubbing his now red cheek.

"Were you the one following me this whole time?" Kagome yelled out in frustration. He got her all worried and scared, and for nothing!

"Well duh. What did you think I was a mugger?" He mocked. Her hand was in a fist and he saw her eyebrow twitch furiously. He let himself smirk as her watched her on the brink of an explosion.

"What was I supposed to think?! You got me all freaked out earlier talking about muggers and what not."

He stifled a small laugh. This girl was something else, and he enjoyed igniting her temper the way he was.

"Just let me walk you home, will ya wench." He had crossed his arms again.

Kagome had never met such a stubborn individual before in her life. This guy just wouldn't give up! She sighed.

"Only if you will stop calling me wench and start calling me by my name, Kagome. Got it, dog boy?"

"Keh, fine. I won't call you wench, but you can't call me dog boy either, understand?" She didn't even know his name, what did he expect? Especially when he went throwing insults at her..

"Fine. But I'll have to know your name then." She said and started walking, this time aware that HE was the one following her. He never gave his name and they walked in absolute silence. She wondered if he actually thought this was worth it. Still though, she was grateful to have someone looking after her this time. The sun had finally set and the only light they had was the from the street lights. What a night this turned out to be. Why was this guy so set on walking her home anyway? She would be lucky if after she cooked dinner there would be enough time for her to do homework before bed. All thanks to him.

He was relieved that she finally let him walk her home. Damn wench was more stubborn than he anticipated. Anyone else probably would have jumped on the chance to let some strong half demon walk her home. What was her problem anyway? He knew that he should have just let her walk home on her own, but something in his gut was telling he needed to get to know this girl a little better. Since he was half dog demon his instincts tended to play a big role in his actions. Besides, he did enjoy making her mad. It gave him some entertainment.

"Well this my house." She said and turned around. They were at the bottom of a large flight of stairs.

"Thanks for walking me home!" She said and turned around.

"Inuyasha." She turned back around and cocked her head at him.

"What?"

"My name is Inuyasha." He said looking away from her. She smiled. So he decided to give her his name after all.

"Inuyasha huh? I like it."

"Heh." Was all he said. He was hopeless.

"Well, thanks again, Inuyasha." And she began up the stairs. She wondered if she would ever see him again and part of her wanted to turn around and ask. She never did though, she didn't want him to get the wrong impression or anything, and he infuriated her on more then one level. Why was she even considering seeing him again? There was just something about him though, something that made her want to know more. She walked through the doors of her home and immediately went into the kitchen. She had to get started on dinner so she could start on her homework. She was going to have a long night.

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Inuyasha was walking away with his hands above his head, trying to figure what it was about Kagome that made him want to see her again. He sure as hell didn't think she was pretty or nothin', and she was almost as stubborn as he was, and that was annoying. Even though he had his fun with her and found it amusing how easily she got mad at him, he didn't think that was enough for him to want to see her again. He thought of when he first saw her, and how much she reminding him of Kikyo. It had put into a daze and he almost freaked the damn girl out. It was strange how much she resembled her. It must be because of that, because of how much she looks like Kikyo.

"Keh." He said out loud to himself. She may look like her but she didn't act like her. Kikyo was a lot more lady like and respectful. She would have never talked to him the way Kagome did. Whatever the reason was, he knew he had to see Kagome again, and he would.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is Chapter 2 :)  
I would like to thank Inu Kag Luver 1, RiceBallMaker94, and Sarabear208 for your reviews :D**  
**They are greatly appreciated!  
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think and what not :)**

**-Alessiel**

**So, I just re-edited this lol. I wrote it late last night and posted it early this morning and found quite a few mistakes when I woke up today. I'm sure there are still a few, but I feel it is better than it was. Please feel free to point out my mistakes, because I don't have an editor so that means I must rely on you guys for help(If you are willing to that is :D)! :) Thank you so much!**

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Kagome sat outside of the store manager's office waiting for her turn for an interview. The 16 year old girl had never been through this before and she was extremely nervous. She started fiddling with her hair in hopes that it would help calm her nerves. She really needed this job. It would mean the end of her already pitiful social life, but she had to do what was best for her family.

"Ms. Higurashi?" Kagome looked up and met the eyes of the store manager. She nodded and stood up to follow him into the office. He smiled at her and held out his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you." He said as the exchanged a gentle handshake. She gave him a meek smile in return.

"It's nice to meet you too."

They stepped into his office and he sat behind the large oak desk covered in papers. For a manager he sure didn't seem very organized.

"Listen, before we get started, you should know that I already have my eyes set on someone for this job. Now, this certainly does not mean you will not be given a fair chance of course." Kagome stared at her feet for a moment. She wasn't going to get the job, great.

"Alright well, I guess I'll just have to try my best to 'wow' you then!" She put on her best smile. What she really wanted to do was get up and leave. This was nothing more than a waste of her time.

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Damn it, Inuyasha growled low in his throat. He wanted to see Kagome again and had been waiting around her house for what seemed like forever.

"What could that wench be doing anyway? Last night she couldn't _wait_ get home." Inuyasha knew she hadn't been home since this morning, her scent that still lingered was beginning to smell stale. He looked at the sun as it was beginning to set, if she didn't hurry she would be stuck walking home in the dark again. The hanyou's nose twitched and he looked down from the sacred tree he had been sitting in, and finally saw Kagome walking towards the house. As she passed the tree he jumped down from his branch and stood directly behind her.

"Its about time you got home. What were you doing anyway?" Kagome turned around and cocked her head at the young hanyou. His red sweatshirt had a few leaves sticking to it and his dark blue jeans did as well. Was he hiding up in the sacred tree?

"Inuyasha? What, what are you doing here?" Inuyasha crossed arms and looked away from her. He hadn't anticipated her asking him that, why was he here? He growled and started to feel a little foolish.

"No reason, I was just in the neighborhood okay? Is it so bad I came to see if you were home?" Inuyasha was never very good at thinking on his feet in situations like these, and this was a perfect example of it.

"Just in the neighborhood?" She repeated. That had to be the most cliche thing she has ever heard.

"Inuyasha, please forgive me, but I don't really feel like being around anyone right now. I have to go home and start dinner for my little brother and gramps." Kagome wondered if she should have added 'It's not you, it's me.' in there but decided against. She wasn't really in the mood for jokes anyway.

Inuyasha glanced over towards the girl in front of him and saw something unexpected in her eyes. He thought for sure there would be sparks of fire in her like he had the night before, but right now the Kagome that stood before him looked sad, let down, and maybe a little disappointed.

"Good. I haven't eaten since this morning and am starving." He said and walked passed her toward the front door. Kagome blinked where he once stood. Did he just invite himself over for dinner?

"Hey, wench. You just gonna stand there staring at nothing or are you gonna come in here and start cooking?" Inuyasha was holding her front door open when she turned around. Does this idiot really think he can just invite himself into my house and expect me to cook for him?

"I don't think so dog boy. You can't just walk into someone's house uninvited and expect them too cook for you! Where are your manners anyway?" Inuyasha smirked. The fire was back in her eyes.

"Heh, whatever. I waited here all day for you and you showed up late, so the least you can do is cook me dinner." This guy had some serious nerve! He sat at her house all day long waiting for her? Who even does that?!

"So let me get this straight. You came here this morning probably sometime after I left for school, waited until I got home, and didn't even say a word of it to me, and that makes this all my fault." Kagome said through gritted teeth. His logic made no sense whatsoever.

"Yeah, sounds about right." He said with arms crossed.

"I thought you were 'just in the neighborhood'? All day seems like a long time to be hanging around. There isn't much on this street, you know." Kagome saw his eyes widen a little and this time it was her turn to smirk and cross her arms.

"Uhm, Hey sis. Whose your friend?" Kagome glance through the door and saw her little brother standing just in side of it.

"Ah, Souta. This is Inuyasha. He was just leaving." Kagome hoped he would get the hint and actually leave, but she forgot how stubborn the half demon was.

"yeah, until your _ever so sweet_ sister here invited me over for dinner." Souta looked over at Inuyasha and his eyes widened. Kagome knew exactly why, it was those fuzzy dog ears on top of his head.

"Wh-what are you?" Souta asked while tugging on his red sweatshirt. He had to stand on his tiptoes to reach his sleeve.

"I'm a half demon, got a problem with that?" Inuyasha said looking down at the kid. Souta's eyes only brightened which caught him a little off guard, most kids were terrified of him.

"Wow! Kagome is he really staying for dinner? He's so cool!" Inuyasha grinned smugly and looked at Kagome.

"Well Kagome?" He asked.

Kagome hadn't seen Souta this excited in a long time, how was she supposed to say no? She walked up to the door and made sure to glare at Inuyasha.

"Fine, you can stay for dinner. I hope you like ramen, because that's about all we have right now." She said while walking through the entry way. She wished she could make something more, but their money was slowly drying up and ramen was about the only thing they could really afford right now.

"Is there anyone who doesn't like ramen? I'm pretty sure that stuff was bestowed upon us from gods themselves!" Inuyasha had so much enthusiasm in his voice that Kagome wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic, or if he just really loved ramen.

"Sounds like you better make lots of ramen sis." Souta said giggling.

"Hey Inuyasha, do you wanna play video games with me? I'm really good!" The young boy asked his new dog-eared friend.

Kagome couldn't believe how well her little brother was taking to Inuyasha. Souta became more distant after their father passed away. Even though he had only been 8 years old when he passed, it still hurt him just as much as everyone else. It was nice to see him opening up around someone, maybe she should invite Inuyasha over more often. She shook her head. She almost forgot she hadn't invited him tonight, that he actually invited himself.

"Heh, sure why not? Just don't think I'll go easy on ya cus you're a runt or anything. I don't like losing to nobody!" Inuyasha teased.

"I wouldn't be so cocky, Inuyasha. Souta practically lives on that game cube, he's actually pretty good." Kagome giggled. Even though it was all in good fun, she still had to stick up for Souta in someway. He was her little brother after all and no body would pick on him while she was around.

"Sis you haven't played with me in months, you haven't even seen how much better I have gotten!" He was clearly very proud of himself. He grabbed Inuyasha's hand and started dragging him towards the living room.

"Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes you got it!" Inuyasha heard Kagome yell out as her kid brother was dragging him to the other room. Inuyasha wasn't usually about shoving himself into peoples homes or their lives, but he sat around waiting all day for Kagome and he was damned if it was going to be for nothing. If it wasn't for her little brothers infatuation with him getting in here would have been a helluva lot harder. Inuyasha sat down on the floor and grabbed one of the controllers, waiting for Souta to put in the game. As the screen popped up he noticed the runt had chosen Mario Kart. Inuyasha smirked, he was very good at this game. The kid grabbed his controller and sat himself right next to the hanyou and was grinning.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you."

"Why's that?" Souta looked up at him, confused.

"Because your in for the beating of your life! This is my favorite game." Inuyasha held his smirk as he looked down at the boy. Souta met his eyes with a toothy grin. They played a few rounds and when Kagome yelled that dinner was ready and Souta let out a loud "awww." If Inuyasha wasn't starving he probably would have said it too. He really had a lot of fun playing with the runt and he was actually pretty good. Not better than him, but the older boy was nice and let him win a few times, despite his earlier threat.

Inuyasha was the first one at the table and grabbed a big bowl of ramen with Souta once again right by his side. They both dove into their dinner like that hadn't eat in months. Kagome blinked at them a few times as she saw noodles and broth flying everywhere.

"I guess he definitely wasn't being sarcastic about how much he loved ramen." Kagome mumbled under her breath.

She felt herself start to giggle at the two of them, until she heard the small creaks from the stairs. She immediately ran to see who it was. If it was gramps she would need to be there to assist him. When she ran into the living room she looked up to see her mom coming down. Kagome was surpised, to say the least. her mom never came down this late, if at all.

"Hi mom. How are you feeling?" Kagome asked. The older woman looked at her daughter with tired eyes and tear stained cheeks. Her hair hadn't been brushed in what looked like a few days and her cloths were extremely wrinkled, probably because she hadn't changed them recently. Her usually well kept mother looked like nothing more than a disheveled mess.

"I really don't know how I'm feeling Kagome... It, it still hurts." Kagome saw her mothers eyes begin to fill with tears again and she ran up to her.

"I know momma, it still hurts me too." She said while wrapping her arms around her. Her mother returned her embrace and quietly sobbed into her daughters shoulder.

"What would I do without you Kagome? I'm a mess..." Kagome tightened her grip on her mother and began fighting back her own tears.

She hated seeing her mother like this. Her mom had always been so bright and happy. She was always involved in her kids lives and did everything she could for them. Kagome wished there was something she could do to help her mom become at least a fraction of her old self again.

"Momma, it doesn't matter alright? I've been taking care of everything and I will continue to do so for as long as it takes. You can count on me, I promise." Her mom sobbed even more and Kagome knew she had to try to take her back to her room. If Souta walked in to see their mom like this, it would kill him.

"Come on mom, lets get you back to bed. I'll bring you whatever you need, alright?" Mrs. Higurashi nodded her head and allowed her daughter to lead her up the stairs. As they entered her dark room Kagome guided her over to the big bed she had once shared with her now deceased husband. As she assisted her mom back into her bed she made sure to wrap the covers comfortable around her.

"Kagome, I'm so proud of you. Thank you so much for all you are doing..." Her mother whispered to her.

"You just get some rest momma, don't worry about anything alright? Do you need anything from downstairs?"

"No, I think I'll be fine now. You go hangout with your friend and Souta now, alright?" Kagome's eyes widened at her mother.

"How did you know I had someone over?" The older woman let a small smile escape her lips and the younger girl was relieved to see it. Her mother hadn't smiled in over a year.

"Just go back downstairs, alright. I'll be fine." She said and rolled over. Kagome left the room and quietly shut the door. As she went down the stairs, she immediately was caught into the intense gold stare of the hanyou.

"So, that was your mom huh?" He asked. Kagome looked at her feet as she walked down.

"Yeah...She hasn't been the same since dad died."

"She definitely looks like she's seen better days." He said softly.

"Did Souta see her like that?" Kagome asked suddenly worried.

"Nah, when I saw her I told him not to leave the kitchen. He tried but I kept a close eye on him." Kagome was grateful now that Inuyasha pushed his way into her home now. If he wasn't there Souta would have had a front row seat to that whole scene.

"Thank you Inuyasha. I really really appreciate that." She made her way over the couch and buried her head in her hands.

"Yeah, well, I figured no one should have to see their mom like that, not even you." Kagome slid her hands up farther and entangled them into her bangs.

"Someone has to take care of her. Souta is only 9 years old, and my grandfather is too old to even take care of himself." Kagome felt a knot in her throat begin to form and she shook her head slowly. She shouldn't be having this conversation with Inuyasha of all people. She barely knew the guy.

"When's the last time you ever did anything fun? Something for yourself?" Kagome was caught off guard by his question.

"I haven't been able to do anything for myself in a long time, Inuyasha. I have to take care of my family, and I'm okay with that. They need me." Her voice trailed off and she could feel her shoulders tense from the stress of thinking about it. It had been a long time since she could say she has done anything for herself. She was 16 years old, she should be out having the time of her life.

"Can't you take a day off every once in a while? Or at least for a few hours to do something enjoyable? Go to a movie, the park, anything?" He sounded frustrated. Why would he be frustrated? This wasn't his burden.

"Between school, homework, getting Souta to soccer practice, and taking care of the household, I have barely anytime for myself. The little free time I can muster up for is going to be used for work. I had a job interview today, actually. That is why I was late coming home." Kagome felt a tear escape from her eyes and she cursed herself.

"Did you get the job?" Inuyasha asked.

"No. The guy brought me in for my interview and basically told me that he wasn't going to hire me, that he already had someone else in mind...I didn't even have a fair chance." Inuyasha was relieved she didn't get the job. She shouldn't be running herself ragged like this. He understood why, he honestly truly did, but she was suffering and that didn't sit well with him.

"Anyway enough about me, what do you do Inuyasha? We've spent all this time talking about my personal life I think it's only fair I get to hear yours now." She brought her head up and put on the best smile she could. She was trying to chang the subject.

"I'll hire you." Kagome's smile was quickly gone. _He...will hire me?_

"What?"

"I said, I'll hire you." He was looking right at her with that same intense stare. She thought maybe he pitied her, but she felt more like he _understood_ her and wanted to help, which made her feel a lot lets pathetic.

"What would you even have me do?" She asked.

"I don't know. I'll figure out something. My apartment is pretty messy, I supposed I could pay you to clean it. Along with other odd jobs." He said shrugging his shoulders. Clean his apartment? That doesn't sound so bad.

"How much would are you willing to pay?"

"Does $75 a day, 5 days a week, sounds alright?" He said smirking. Kagome's jaw dropped and she looked at him in bewilderment.

"Can you afford that?!"

"Keh, when my old man died he left me a pretty nice inheritance, so yeah I can afford it easy." He said crossing his arms. Stupid wench, did she really think he would have offered that much if he couldn't afford it.

"Maybe after a few weeks you can even have a pay raise, if you do a good enough job that is." He said with his arms still crossed. Inuyasha felt something collide into his chest and he looked down to see Kagome embracing him. He felt his cheeks start to get warm and he began to scratch his head nervously.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing wench?" His voice was a little more shaky than he liked.

"Thank you Inuyasha. You have no idea how much this means to me." She said and brought her chocolate brown eyes to meet his. He noticed they had tears coming out of them, and he wrinkled his nose at her.

"If you're so happy, why are you crying huh?"

"These are tears of joy Inuyasha." She let go of him and wiped the drops from her cheeks and smiled. He really didn't understand humans. They cry when they are sad, they cry when their mad, and they even cry when they are happy? Inuyasha couldn't even remember the last time he cried for any reason, let alone cry from _happiness._

"Keh, well whatever. You start tomorrow alright? I'll be here to pick you up at 4pm sharp. Don't be late this time." He said as he headed towards her front door. It was getting late and he figured he should head home anyway.

"Yes sir!" She said while still smiling and following him to the door. She was so relieved right now that she didn't even feel the need to yell at him for saying 'this time', and to explain to him that she didn't know that he was going to be here , so it wasn't her fault. She would let it slide just this once. He stepped out the front door and turned around to look at her.

"Hey... Try to read a book or something before you go to bed, alright." His eyes moved over to the side.

"I read my chemistry book almost every night. If there's anything that can put me to sleep, its science!" She said while giggling.

"That's not what I meant. Just, try to do something for yourself, okay?" He said and ran off before she could answer.

That Inuyasha sure is something else. Kagome began to wonder if she will ever understand him. She closed the door and went into the kitchen to start cleaning up the mess, when she noticed Souta was still in the dining room.

"Souta, why are you still in here? Wouldn't you rather be out in the living room playing video games?"

"Inuyasha told me to stay in here, and I promised I wouldn't go out there until either you or him came in to say it was okay." Poor Souta looked bored out of his mind, but she had to give him props for listening so well. She smiled at her little brother and put her hand on his head.

"You really liked Inuyasha, didn't you Souta?" His blue eyes brightened up and he shook his head up and down happily.

"Do you think he will come over again to hangout with me?"

"Oh I don't know. Something tells me he just might." She said and rubbed his head.

"Now, go take a bath and put your pajamas on alright? Its almost time for bed."

"Yeah ok sis. Thanks for dinner!" He said and left the room.

* * *

Kagome began making her way to her bedroom when she passed the bookshelf in the living room. As she stopped to glance at a few of the books, she realized she never noticed how big of a variety there was. She looked at the time and noticed it was 10:30pm, she needed to go to bed, not read a book. What as she thinking?

_"That's not what I meant. Just, try to do something for yourself, okay?"_

Inuyasha's words rang in her ears as she stared at the book case. Her eyes scanned all the different titles and she even looked at a few of the covers and read some summaries. When she couldn't decide which one to take, she closed her eyes and picked a book at random and headed up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is Chapter 3 =]  
**

**The last was about Kagome's back story, and so this one gives a little more info on Inuyasha's.  
I was very vague about a few things in the chapter though, mostly Kikyo.  
Don't worry questioned will be answered over time as the story goes on :) **

* * *

The half demon opened up the door to his apartment and walked into pure darkness, his hand blindly feeling around the wall for his light switch. The moment his apartment lit up he let out a disappointed sigh. The poor girl would have her work cut out for her tomorrow, that's for sure. He had been living alone for the last 50 years and cleaning up was not exactly his 'cup of tea'. He can't even remember the last time he actually cleaned his apartment from head to toe. Inuyasha made his way into his kitchen and nearly gagged from the smell coming out of the sink. He rarely ate at home, but somehow his kitchen sink and counters were piled high with dirty dishes and old food. Instead of taking out the trash when it was full, he would just set the bags next to the trashcan and pile them as high as he could until he was forced to take out multiple loads at once. He wanted to help Kagome out, but instead he was only making more work for her. Inuyasha growled at his own stupidity, why did he have to act like such a bachelor? You would think after living with Kikyo for so long he would have gotten his act together and learned to keep up on the cleaning. Kikyo had always kept their house immaculate and would berate Inuyasha for leaving anything lying around. After she died he left their house and moved into his own apartment and now lived like a slob.  
The hanyou slowly dragged his feet to his pile of garbage bags in the corner of the kitchen, he couldn't let Kagome see his apartment like this. He would clean the kitchen since it was clearly the worse room in his small apartment and leave her the living room. He may not know Kagome very well just yet, but he knew she wouldn't stick around if she felt lured here under false pretenses, or else he would just clean the whole damn apartment so she didn't have to worry about it. Inuyasha picked up all 8 bags that he had lying in the corner and hauled them outside. He was going to have a long night trying to take care of this stuff...

* * *

Kagome ran outside her house and headed to the Sacred Tree her and Inuyasha decided to meet at. She looked around, expecting to see an already waiting half demon, but he wasn't there. Would he really show up late after all the crap he gave her yesterday? She heard rustling in the tree above her and slowly brought her head up, only to receive a face full of leaves.

"Inuyasha!"

He jumped down from the tree and began laughing at her. He really shouldn't enjoy teasing her this much, but he just couldn't help it. She grumbled a few unpleasant things about him and began picking the leaves out of her hair.

"Keh, calm down will ya wench? It's ain't like I ruined anything." He said with a small smirk playing on his face.

"It was still rude, and now there are leaves all over in my hair." Kagome was trying her best to bite her tongue, but he made it excruciatingly hard.

"Learn to take a joke, will ya?" He said while stepping forward to help her pick the few leaves that were left in her hair. Kagome felt her stomach flutter when she felt the tips of his claws lightly brush her scalp. She kept her eyes to the ground because she felt too nervous to look him in the eye knowing he was right in front of her. If she was being honest, she hasn't been this close to a guy before. It may sound pathetic at 16 years old but Kagome barely had time for herself, let alone guys. So being this close to a male definitely was affecting her a lot more than it should. Especially with it being Inuyasha of all people.

_I mean he definitely isn't bad looking or anything...and he seems really kind of sweet._

Kagome mentally scorned herself. She hardly knows the guy and not only that hes technically her boss!

"You coming or what?" Kagome's eyes shot up to see Inuyasha's back now a few feet away from her. She was so caught up mentally arguing with herself she didn't even realize he was leaving.

"Ah, yes. Sorry." She said running to catch up to him, but keeping her distance behind him. Neither of them spoke and it was making Inuyasha feel a little awkward. Had his little prank really pissed her off that much? Damn it. He picked the leaves out of her hair, wasn't that enough? He thought that had helped, especially when she didn't object. He tried to read her reaction after the first leaf, but she refused to even glance at him. Inuyasha thought that he had seen her blushing, but she kept her face down. He figured it was nothing more than his imagination, he wasn't anything but a lowly half demon. There wasn't a woman on this planet that would blush from his touch.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said, breaking Inuyasha's thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You were spacing out pretty bad there." Inuyasha looked over and saw concern in her eyes.

"Keh, don't worry about me Kagome, I'm fine." He said and looked straight ahead again. Kagome had a hard time believing him, the look in his eyes told her otherwise, but she wasn't going pry.

"How much farther until we are at your apartment?" She asked trying to break the awkward silence. They were in a sketchy part of Tokyo and she really hoped his apartment wasn't in this neighborhood.

"Not too far. It's just right up here." He said pointing at an old dingy apartment building. Kagome's heart sank.

"You live here? This is one of the worst parts of Tokyo!"

"You think I don't know that? It's not like I had a lot of options." Inuyasha crossed his arms. He should have just kept the house him and Kikyo had together, but he couldn't stay there after she died. It was too hard, and now he was stuck in this dump because no one wanted to rent out to a half demon.

"I thought you had an inheritance?" Kagome was assuming he couldn't afford anything better.

"I do. No one wants to live next to a half demon, Kagome. That's why I have to live here. They were the only people greedy enough to take my money without any second thought." He said while leading her up the stairs.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha. I shouldn't have assumed..." Kagome mumbled while bringing her head down. She didn't realize it, but he was actually happy she assumed. Most people would have known right off that it was because of his monster-like features. Then again, most people probably wouldn't be coming to his apartment right now, so Kagome certainly wasn't _most_ people.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He said when they finally reached his door. It was a light blue color and had gold numbers on it, 412. She noticed the one had fallen off and all that was left was the dark spot from the glue that once held it in place. Inuyasha opened up the door and walked in, Kagome right at his heals. He switched on the light and heard Kagome gasp at the sight. The girl standing next to him slowly observed the apartment she was now supposed to clean. There was ramen bowls scattered all throughout the living room, along with other things like pizza boxes and potato chip bags. The floor looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in years and everything seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust. His couch was covered in more garbage and random clothes, there wasn't even any room to sit on it. Kagome sighed, she had her work cut out for her, that's for sure.

"You're really quite a bachelor aren't you?" Kagome said scratching her head and smiling nervously up at Inuyasha.

"Yeah, I guess." Kagome wasn't sure how anyone was even able to live in here. If Inuyasha were a normal human, he probably would be sick constantly from his sloppiness.

"Where are your trash bags? I supposed I should start with that." She said while walking over to the dirtiest corner of the living room.

"Their in the kitchen. Come on I'll show ya." Kagome followed him into the kitchen and had to gasp again when she stepped in.

"I-it's spotless!" Kagome looked around wide eyed. The chrome sink and white counter tops seemed to almost sparkle. How the heck did he keep this room so clean and the other one so...not?

"Yeah, well, I felt bad making you clean everything, because I let it get so bad. So I stayed up all night cleaning the kitchen so you didn't have to worry about it." He crossed his arms and looked away from her.

"Inuyasha. You are paying me for this, now I have less work to do." She said confused as to why he would hire her if he was going to clean it himself anyway. Inuyasha walked towards the sink and bent down towards the cupboard, grabbing the box of trash bags.

"Well I can dirty it back up of you want." He grumbled.

"I, uh no, of course not. I'm sure you worked very hard to make it easier for me, I appreciate it." She said with a soft smile. Inuyasha tossed her the box of trash bags and walked out of the kitchen and to the corner she was at earlier. He began sorting through the trash and Kagome slightly raised her eyebrows.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing? I'm supposed to be cleaning for you, so that you don't have too." Kagome said pulling out a trash back and sticking in a few ramen containers he threw out from the corner.

"What am I supposed to do while you clean, huh?" He didn't even glance at her when he was talking, he just focused on the corner of garbage. Kagome grabbed the garbage he was throwing her way and continued putting it in bags.

"Take a nap? You stayed up all night cleaning the kitchen. Get some rest."  
Inuyasha was a little surprised by her request. He always sat here, alone in the painful silence of his apartment and he had a chance to be around someone else. Someone that didn't seem to mind his company...

"I can sleep anytime I want. I'm helping you and that's final. Besides, you will have to go and take care of family after this, so lets make this as easy as possible. Got it wench?" Inuyasha still kept his focus on the corner.

"Listen, _dog boy_. I can do just fine by myself. I don't need you to help me out of pity. Go do something else and let me do what you hired me for." She didn't understand why he was so hell bent on helping her do this. Was it because he was embarrassed? If that was the case, than maybe he shouldn't let his apartment to have gotten so messy to begin with.

"Who you callin' dog boy, wench?!" Inuyasha growled. He thought she was being oddly nice this whole time, it was about time she fired her temper.

"The same mutt who called me wench moments ago." Kagome's eyebrow began to twitch and she balled her small hands into fists. Inuyasha glared down at her and continued to growl, expecting her to hang her head in defeat from fear, but she only held his glare with her own. She crossed her arms and stuck out her hip. After a few moments Inuyasha held out his claws hoping that would cause her to back down. Kagome only cocked an eyebrow, daring him to try it. Inuyasha let out a frustrated grunt and headed towards his bedroom, making sure to slam the door behind him.  
He plopped belly down onto his bed and allowed his cheek to comfortably rest on his pillow. What was wrong with that wench anyway? He was just trying to be nice and help. Didn't she get that he didn't want to be alone? He couldn't believe she refused to back down to him. He could have had her on her back so fast, but she didn't seem to care.

_She wasn't afraid of me...  
_

Inuyasha felt a small smile creep across his face.

"Stupid wench." He muttered before allowing his exhaustion to take over and drifting off to sleep.

Kagome could see how tired Inuyasha looked and she knew he needed to get some rest. She figured that was his reason for his constant spacing today. When they had their little spat, she refused to give in. Just because he was a half demon didn't mean he could try and scare her into backing down. His health should be more important than helping her do her job. She began to continue cleaning the corner they had started on together when her eyes drifted to the T.V. Sitting right next her. She looked on the the stand and saw a picture frame that was laying face down on the shelf. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she picked it up. It was a picture of a beautiful woman with long straight black hair and milky white skin. She had big brown eyes, but they held a certain emptiness in them and Kagome wondered why. Next to the beautiful woman was someone who resembled Inuyasha, but he looked more human. This man had dark brown hair and his clothes were even the same as Inuyasha's with his red jacket, white tank top, and blue jeans. The only difference in their outfits was the red and blue cap the man in the picture was wearing. This man also had the same honey gold eyes as the half demon, which she found even more odd. Kagome continued comparing the two men when mother nature's urges suddenly called to her bladder. The sudden need to pee hit her so hard she had to bolt down the hallway, hoping the door to the bathroom was down it. She saw a door right next to Inuyasha's bedroom and crossed her fingers that was the bathroom not a closet. As she gripped the silver door knob and pushed it open she breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped into the bathroom and immediately headed for the toilet. As she looked around she noticed this room was just as bad as the living room. There was piles of old towels and dirty clothes next to the shower that looked like they may be producing mold, and smelt like it too. Kagome sighed, he was such a man. She went to reach for the toilet paper and noticed there was barely enough for her to use. She would have to get a new roll for him before leaving. She scanned the small room to see where he might keep his extra rolls of toilet paper, and her eyes fell on the cupboard underneath the sink. She bent down after scooting away a few towels and opened the doors but all she saw were a few boxes of brown hair dye. The young girl quickly put two and two together and began to wonder. Was it possible that the human man in that picture was Inuyasha? And that pretty woman...was she Kikyo?

* * *

Inuyasha jolted at the sound of a knock on his bedroom door. Who the hell was in his apartment? He looked over at his clock and saw that it 8pm. Why did he go to sleep before 8pm anyway? Inuyasha heard another gentle knock at the door.

"Inuyasha?" He heard the voice of a woman. Kikyo? Inuyasha's heart began to race. Did she come back to him?

He heard a few more gentle thumps on his door.

"Inuyasha? Wake up will you? I've gotta get home." The confused half demon put his hand on his forehead. Damn, why the hell was he so disoriented? Deep down he knew it couldn't be Kikyo, she was dead and there was no possibility of her returning. He tried to remember what happened and why this woman was in his home.

"Inuyasha, It's me Kagome." The girl spoke almost knowing he didn't realize who she was.  
That's right, he hired Kagome to clean his apartment and when he tried to help her clean, she forced him to take a nap. Inuyasha threw off the covers and made his way to the door. At some point in his sleep he threw off his red jacket and was now only wearing his white tank top and blue jeans. The moment he swung the door open Kagome immediately noticed the muscle definition in his chest that his white tank top seemed to flatter very well, not to mention his well toned arms. She felt her stomach tingle and her face begin to get hot and turned around so Inuyasha wouldn't catch her blushing. She would hate to explain that one.

"Hey calm down will ya? Lemme grab my sweatshirt and we can go. No need to rush me." He said while sleepily rubbing his eyes. He didn't even give a chance to full wake up and she was already trying to leave. Kagome nodded and went out to the living room, relieved that he thought she was trying to rush him, and didn't notice very pink cheeks. After a few minutes Inuyasha came out and inspected her work. She had almost the whole living room done in the few hours and Inuyasha had to admit that he was impressed. His apartment looked better already.

"I wasn't able to finish all of it, but there isn't much more and than I can start on your bathroom."

"You did a good job Kagome. You definitely earned the $75 for today." He said while handing her the money. Kagome smiled, happy with his compliments. She took the cash and put it in her purse.

"We should probably head back to my house. Souta and Gramps are probably starving." Kagome said while scratching the back of her head. Inuyasha nodded and opened the front door for her and they both stepped outside.

"Hey Inuyasha..." Inuyasha could tell that Kagome was nervous about something, her voice was quiet and shaky.

"Yeah? What do you want?" He asked with his usual bluntness.

"I, hm...I found a picture on the T.V. Stand..." Kagome allowed her voice to drift off. She knew he would know exactly what picture she was talking about, considering it seemed to be the only one there.

"I suppose you wanna know if it was me, right? Cus I sure look a helluva lot different now huh? Well, if you have to know, that guy is a cousin of mine." The hanyou brought his attention back the sidewalk.

"But, what about the box of hair dye in your bathroom?" Well, she just openly admitted to going through his things. Granted, she was only looking for toilet paper, and wasn't trying to snoop. She braced herself for his next words and fidgeted with the bottom of her dark green skirt.

"What are you going through my stuff for wench? I didn't hire you try and pry into my life, did I?"  
Kagome immediately regretted bringing it up. What was she thinking anyway? That's obviously something from his personal life and she had no right to ask, she was nothing more than his employee. She needed to remember that.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha." Kagome said quietly, trying to take back what she said. Damn her and her curiosity.  
Inuyasha wanted to be angry at her, but he couldn't. The damn wench sent him to bed and began digging through things she didn't even need to be around in the first place! What the hell was she doing in the bathroom anyway? She was supposed to focusing on the living room for now. He glanced back at her and saw her head stooped in shame. Inuyasha sighed out loud.

"Back when Kikyo was still alive I would try and hide my demonic appearance. That's why I look like that in the picture." His voice was calm and that surprised Kagome. She was expecting a stern lecture.

"I...why would you do that?" She didn't plan on pressing any farther but the words kind of slipped out of her mouth.

"Why do you think Kagome? I already told you how hard it is live as a half demon." Inuyasha scoffed.

"Yeah but, you don't do anything to hide it now..." Kagome kept her voice low and just above a whisper. She knew this was probably treading on sensitive ground with the hanyou in front of her.

"It got tiring to keep up on is all." He mumbled quietly. She didn't say anything after that, and he was relieved. She probably figured she had pushed her limits enough for tonight.

He never wanted to hide his appearance in the first place, yeah living as a half demon was hard, but it was a helluva lot better than wearing that damn hat. It suffocated his ears and caused them to itch, and dying his hair constantly was just as annoying. The smell of it alone was more than he could stand. As much as he disliked doing those things, it was what Kikyo wanted and he would have done it until they grew old together, had she lived that long. She wanted normality and being with him took that option away from her. She was willing to give up her her hopes and dreams in order to be with him, and the least he could do was try and give her the most normal life he could.

Inuyasha stayed silent the rest of the way to her house. He was obviously deep in thought and Kagome wondered if maybe she had struck a nerve. As they reached the top of the long flight of stairs to her house she finally decided to speak.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha. I didn't mean to bring that up...Sometimes my curiosity tends to get the best of me." She said fidgeting with her skirt again.

"Keh, next time don't go snooping through my stuff alright?"

Kagome nodded her head in response and kept her gaze at her feet as she walked by Inuyasha. When she was at her door he turned around to make his leave.

"Inuyasha. I'm glad you no longer hide your appearance." Inuyasha stopped in shock at her words.

"Oh yeah? And why's that huh?" He was curious where the wench was going with this.

"I just don't think you anything to be ashamed of is all..." His eyes widened and to say he was shocked was an understatement.

"Yeah, well...What do you know anyway?" He crossed his arms. Of course he had a reason to be ashamed. Did she not get a good look at him or something? What is wrong with her?

"I guess I don't know much, especially about demons... But, I think you are alright as a half demon. It's like Souta said, Inuyasha. You're pretty cool." Inuyasha was stunned for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off. Kagome turned around to see the hanyou walking off.

"Keh, whatever. Tell the runt I said hi, ok?" He said while waving his hand back at her. She smiled at his retreating form.

* * *

Inuyasha sat in his bed holding the small black picture frame in his hand. He hated the way he looked in the photo, but it had been what Kikyo wanted. When he looked at the smiling Kikyo in the picture, she looked genuinely happy. That was all he ever wanted and he was willing to do anything for her happiness, even give up his own. Kikyo was the only person he allowed into his life and that was only because she was as messed up as he was. That is why they had such a strong connection, both had been _different_ and far from normal. She was the only person that made him consider having a companion, a friend, a lover, someone he could trust_._ When Kikyo came to him with the idea of hiding his demonic features, he was nothing short of surprised and even a little hurt. He always thought that their differences had been what brought them together, what bonded them. She told him that it would be easier for both of them that way, that he needed to hide who was in order to truly be happy.

_ "I just don't think you anything to be ashamed of is all..."_

Even the woman he loved and would have spent the rest of his life with had never said those words to him. He felt his stomach churn as Kagome's voice repeated in his head over and over. Inuyasha knew there was a reason his gut was tugging at him the first night they met, and he was glad he listened.

* * *

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this :) I want to thank the people who reviewed last chapter!**

**RiceBallMaker94**

Sarabear209

Ai Seikatsu- I cannot even tell you how happy your review made me :) Thank you so much!

Guest- I have not mentioned Inuyasha's age yet... But he is going to be the same age as he is in the Anime, which is around 200 years old according to Inuyasha Wiki :) This will all come out later in my story as well.

**Thank you guys so much! I appreciate your support, you guys are awesome!**

**-Alessiel**


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